Implementation of edTPA

What is edTPA?

edTPA is a preservice assessment process designed by educators to answer the essential question: "Is a new teacher ready for the job?"  It is intended to be used for teacher licensure and to support accreditation.  edTPA was developed by the . edTPA is currently a requirement for completing Intern II and is required for licensure in North Carolina. 

The best source of general information on edTPA is through the website . Some information is open to all readers while access to the specific edTPA handbooks and program related materials is limited to university faculty and approved school personnel and can only be gained by creating a personal profile and password and being given access through our commission. Contact Myra Watson for details. 

Scoring Criteria

The  for edTPA portfolios as set by the NC State Board of Education.

Student Resources

Students: see these materials and resources for support in completing edTPA. Note: The edTPA handbooks and rubrics are available from your seminar leaders, typically in your Canvas course.
Video Tutorial handout

- available for free from Microsoft

- recommended for editing on a Mac, free in the App Store

to trim and compress your video

If you have students in your video for whom you do not have consent to appear, you need to blur their faces. You have some options for help with this.

  • First, you can contact the Tech Commons and ask for an appointment for someone who can assist with video editing. If you can come to an in-person appointment, bring your already trimmed video and you will get help using Adobe Premiere to blur faces.
  • Second, if you have a Windows computer, you can use free software to add the filter yourself. Download the free and install it. You can then follow this to go through the process to blur faces.
  • Third, if you are a Distance student with a Mac and cannot come to campus, contact the Tech Commons. Someone will walk you through downloading a trial version of Adobe Premiere and how to use it via a Zoom session.

If your video is not small enough to upload, you may need to use a tool called Handbrake to further compress it. Follow these directions to download and use Handbrake for Windows or Mac.

Student Consent Forms

Early Field Experience - Use these forms to gain consent from your P-12 students and parents to be video recorded during an Early Field Experience
English and Spanish

edTPA Implementation - Use these forms to gain consent from your P-12 students and parents to be video recorded during Intern II or Student Teaching for your edTPA portfolio
English and Spanish

to Pearson's Site. Interns will receive a code via email to use during this process.

Use this website for this process:

Before you submit, we recommend you look carefully over the Evidence Chart for your handbook to confirm you have met the technical requirements.

To retrieve your score report, and click on the "View Your edTPA Scores" button.

If your overall score does not meet the cutscore from our policy on Scoring Criteria, you will need to retake all or a portion of your edTPA assessment.

Pearson has a website with information on . We highly recommend reviewing the document: .

We created a brief Guide for edTPA Retakes that may also help.

If you received a Condition Code, use Pearson's to identify your issue so you can resubmit and avoid the issue.

Candidates seeking North Carolina licensure must attempt all required licensure assessments, including edTPA, during the first year of holding an Initial Professional License and must successfully complete all requirements before or during the third year of licensure.

WCU Program Requirement

To meet 91女神鈥檚 requirements for program completion and graduation, candidates must submit their portfolio to Pearson and:

Receive a passing score OR If the first submission to Pearson does not receive a passing score, revise and resubmit their edTPA portfolio to Pearson according to the recommendations of the seminar instructor and/or academic supervisor. Revision and resubmission must occur prior to the conclusion of the internship semester.

For the Internship Grading Rubrics, the following applies:

  • Unsatisfactory: edTPA portfolio not submitted to Pearson or, if the first submission did not receive a passing score, did not resubmit portfolio according to the recommendations of the seminar instructor and/or academic supervisor prior. (This will lead to an internship grade of D or F. Note that a grade of C or better is required for program completion and graduation.)
  • Proficient: edTPA portfolio submitted to Pearson and received a passing score or, if not passing, resubmitted according to the recommendations of the seminar instructor and/or academic supervisor.
  • Accomplished: edTPA portfolio submitted to Pearson and received a highly鈥恞ualified score on first submission.

Faculty Resources

Faculty: use these resources as you support students through edTPA.

edTPA Resources at AACTEGuidelines for Supporting Candidates

Policies

Note: WCU is in the process of implementing edTPA. As we proceed and receive more feedback on our implementation, our commission regularly writes and revises policies to guide us. This page lists our current policies and is subject to change as needed.
The edTPA implementation at WCU is governed by the edTPA Commission, which was established by resolution of both the CEAP Leadership Council and the WCU Professional Education Council. Policies are set by that commission (in accordance with the resolution that created the commission).
WCU has been approved by SCALE to use edTPA at the Implementation Level. This means our candidates are able to submit their portfolios to Pearson for national scoring.
All candidates pursuing an initial license must submit an edTPA portfolio to Pearson for national scoring. If the portfolio does not pass and must be revised, it must be resubmitted to Pearson. Candidates may elect to resubmit only some individual tasks or the entire portfolio.

We currently have a course fee connected to internship that is used to purchase edTPA vouchers. Students enrolled in internship and that have paid this fee will receive a voucher to cover the cost of their initial submission to edTPA

If a candidate must revise and resubmit all or part of their portfolio to Pearson for any reason, they must bear the cost themselves.

Information on 

The edTPA commission will set the submission deadline for each semester. This may include setting multiple deadlines for separate groups of programs. Individual programs may set a due date earlier than the one set by the commission.

Candidates who submit an edTPA portfolio after the deadline risk delaying graduation.

  • edTPA scores are reported directly to WCU the same day they are reported to candidates. Scores will be processed and sent to seminar leaders as soon as possible so they can be in contact with candidates who do not receive passing scores.
  • Candidates who are unsuccessful with their initial edTPA portfolio submission will meet with a faculty member, typically the seminar leader or academic supervisor, to consult on resubmission plans and requirements.
  • Resubmission of edTPA will be at the candidate鈥檚 expense.
  • Additional edTPA supports beyond the conclusion of the semester are not guaranteed.
  • Passing edTPA scores are not required for a WCU licensure recommendation.
  • Candidates who have not met all licensure test requirements (including edTPA) prior to application for licensure must sign a waiver indicating their understanding of the requirements related to edTPA and professional licensure.

Our commission recommends that academic programs incorporate these items throughout their curriculum before Intern II:

  • Teach Academic Language
  • Provide video training and recording practice
  • Adopt a Lesson Plan template that aligns with edTPA requirements

New faculty in teacher preparation should participate in a general training provided by the edTPA commission about edTPA.

Programs should group score one edTPA portfolio, including new faculty, to keep the requirements fresh in their minds.

Programs should add information on edTPA submission, resubmission, and resubmission costs to Intern I and II syllabi.

See the Office of Field Experiences for our current policies for Internship.

A permission form is provided to candidates for gaining permissions from parents / guardians for their children to participate in teacher candidates' edTPA activities including video / audio taping as well as for using those materials in Local Evaluation Training. Once obtained, signed copies must be posted to the designated place by candidates before final submission of one's portfolio.